Maribeth Badura, a leader in maternal and child health, died in her Washington home October 10, 2010.  She will be missed by hundreds of friends and colleagues who were directly influenced by her passion for caring and vision for improving the health of women, infants, and families.  Her legacy includes thousands of babies whose lives were saved as a result of her work.

Ms. Badura was born on Milwaukee's South Side and went to Mercy High School. She moved to Chicago to get her bachelor of science in nursing from St. Xavier University and a master's degree in nursing from Loyola University. She became a pediatric clinical specialist and nurse practitioner.  As a clinician, she worked at Mercy Hospital; Mount Sinai Hospital; Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and its College of Nursing and the University of Illinois Medical Center.  A leader in nursing, she served as head of the Illinois Nurses Association from 1985 to 1989.  

Ms. Badura moved to Washington in 1993 and over time became Director of the Division of Healthy Start and Perinatal Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Under her strong leadership, the Healthy Start program - as a national strategy for reducing infant mortality in urban and rural communities with high risks - grew and blossomed.  Over the past 20 years, it has grown from 15 grants totaling $13 million to $110 million in grants in 104 communities across country.

The Healthy Start program was launched in 1991 to reduce infant mortality, particularly among populations with disproportionately high rates of adverse perinatal health outcomes. In her words, the goals of Healthy Start are to reduce disparities in access to and utilization of health services by using a lifespan approach, improving the local health care system, and increasing consumer and community input into health care decisions. Ms. Badura's vision drove the program to implement evidence-based practices and innovative, community-driven interventions.  She unwaveringly believed that Healthy Start should help individual communities build on their existing strengths and resources to improve the quality of and access to health care for women and infants at both the service and system levels.

A tribute is planned during a meeting on October 20 in Washington, DC to commemorate the 75^th Anniversary of Title V of the Social Security Act. A private service is planned in Milwaukee

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